Lars Peter Riishojgaard

Global Modeling and Assimilation Office/

Goddard Earth Science and Technology Center

THE MOLNIYA ORBITIMAGER

a high-latitude imaging/winds mission concept

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Science Team

• Lars Peter Riishojgaard, UMBC, PI• Bob Atlas, GSFC, Simulation/impact experiments• Dennis Chesters, GSFC, Instrumentation, mission• Ken Holmlund, EUMETSAT, Algorithm development• Jeff Key, NESDIS/ORA, Data processing• Stan Kidder, CIRA, High-latitude applications• Paul Menzel, NESDIS/ORA, Cloud applications• Jean-Noël Thépaut, ECMWF, Global NWP applications• Chris Velden, CIMSS/UW, Algorithm development• Tom Vonder Haar, CIRA, Satellite meteorology

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Goddard proposal team

• Lars Peter Riishojgard (UMBC/GSFC), PI• Maureen Madden, Proposal Manager• Bill Cutlip, Goddard New Opportunities Lead• Will Mast, Mission Systems Engineer• John Oberright, Mission Systems Engineer• Bob Bartlett, Instrument Systems Engineer• Dennis Chesters, GOES Project Scientist• Greg Marr, Flight dynamics

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Overview

• High-latitude winds and numerical weather prediction

• MODIS winds

• The Molniya Orbit Imager

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Why a new weather mission?

• Weather forecasts (global NWP products) have on average become very good

• Reducing the severity and frequency of forecast busts high on NWS list of priorities

• Busts over North America often have high-latitude origins

• There is a lack of high-latitude wind observations

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

MODIS winds

• Feature tracking algorithms used on MODIS image triplets to derive wind vectors in high latitudes

• Imagery from two channels, 6.7 µ (WV) and 11µ (clouds)

• Coverage poleward of ~65o

• Positive impact on forecast skill, mostly due to 6.7µ channel

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Slide courtesy of Jeff Key, CIMSS

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

animation courtesy of CIMSS

Forecast skill at NCEP with MODIS winds (used in update mode)

Improvement in hurricane track forecasting due to assimilation of MODIS winds (slide courtesy of

Zapotocny et al.)

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Status of satellite wind observations

• No operational satellite winds beyond 55-60 deg latitude• Experimental polar winds from MODIS (until 2008)

– Data latency is problematic; 4 to 6 hours after real time– Image refresh rate problematic; 15 minutes is optimal, MODIS:

~100 minutes– No water vapor channel on VIIRS (until at least 2015)– Latitudinal coverage gap between MODIS and GEO winds

• => Need for “geostationary-type” imagery over high-latitude regions; Molniya Orbit Imager is a good candidate

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Molniya orbit characteristics

• Highly eccentric Kepler orbit – Apogee height 39750 km (geostationary orbit height ~36000 km)– Perigee height ~600 km– Inclination 63.4 degrees– Orbital period ~11h 58m (half a sidereal day)

• Location of apogee w.r.t. Earth is fixed and stable!• Platform in quasi-stationary imaging position near the apogee for

about two thirds of the duration of the orbit

• Used extensively by USSR (to a lesser degree by the US) for communications purposes

• First suggested for meteorological applications by Kidder and Vonder Haar (1990)

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Why Molniya orbit?

• Quasi-stationary perspective; ideal for feature tracking

• Apogee height => GEO technology can be reused– Cost savings– Risk reduction

• Best possible high-latitude coverage per satellite– Fully complements geostationary data; no LEO-like latitudinal coverage

gap

• Simple ground segment; real-time dissemination can be achieved with a single primary ground station, as for GEO– Target is user delivery of calibrated and rectified images within less than

20 minutes and winds within less than 60 minutes of real time

6-hour winds coverage, 4 LEO’s

Apogee winds coverage, Molniya

Molniya OSSE(Observing system simulation experiment)

GEOS-4; Atlas et al.

Forecast improvement over North America, 48 cases

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Additional science applications• Sea ice (Thorsten Markus, GSFC; MSC)

– Age, temperature, motion, thickness, model validation– Temporal resolution will benefit operational applications, studies of polynyas,

leads and marginal ice zone

• Vegetation/forest fire monitoring (Elaine Prins, NESDIS; MSC)– Detection, intensity monitoring over Alaska, Canada, Siberia– Air quality applications over the Continental US (NOAA, EPA)

• Volcanic eruptions; SO2, ash clouds (Arlin Krueger, UMBC; Marianne Guffanti, Dave Schneider, USGS)

– NOAA, USGS interested in real-time monitoring capabilities for the Alaska Volcano Observatory for FAA/commercial aviation customers

• Clouds, fog (Jeff Key, Paul Menzel, NESDIS; Holger Pedersen, UCPH)– Several cloud products planned by CIMSS– Temporal resolution enables e.g. contrail/cirrus studies

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Additional science applications (II)

• Polar weather (Gary Hufford, NOAA; Oreste Reale, UMBC/GSFC)– Operational monitoring of high-latitude weather– Development and life cycle of e.g. polar lows

• Snow-cover and albedo monitoring (Jarkko Koskinen, FMI)– Will benefit from temporal resolution primarily due to higher probability of

clear-sky images

• Regional water quality (Jouni Pulliainen / HUT)– Dynamic phytoplankton and suspended solids mapping in the

Baltic Sea

• Surface radiation balance and SVAT models (Henrik Soegaard, UCPH)– Temporal resolution enables incorporation of the diurnal cycle in land-

surface temperature, variability of aerosol loading and humidity in SVAT (Soil Vegetation Atmosphere Transfer) models

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Mission level requirements

• High temporal (15 minutes) and spatial (1 km VIS, 2 km IR) resolution imagery for all areas N of 60 degrees N for multitemporal applications and derived products– Full-disc view every 15 minutes within 60% of apogee– Special events rapid-scan capability: 1000 x 1000 km in one

minute

• Nominal 3-year mission duration– Nominal end of life for MODIS is 2008; no water water channel on VIIRS

until 2015 (earliest possible date); 2010 launch strongly desirable

• Real-time “operational” dissemination of images and derived products

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Mission implementation studies

• Overall mission design based on series of concurrent engineering studies by the Integrated Design Capability at Goddard

• Key IDC results:– Mission is technically feasible and classified as “low risk”

– Total costs of three-year mission: $275M (with 30% margin)

• Space segment– Instrument vendor selected (Partnership Opportunity Document)

– S/C proposals from four vendors currently under evaluation

• Ground segment– NESDIS is helping to draft plans for data processing chain and has

indicated possibility of ground support (Fairbanks station)

– Finland has committed in principle to ground support (Sodankyla station; data processing)

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

23

MOI Spacecraft (IMDC flight configuration)

InstrumentSensor Module

InstrumentMain Electronics

InstrumentScan Control

InstrumentCooler Control

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Molniya Orbit Imager status

• Mature baseline mission concept– Extensive pre-Phase A study work funded by Goddard, supplemented

with a strong industry participation– Total cost of 3-year mission ~$275M– Goddard Technical Management Review (Office of Mission Success),

07/2005: “This is essentially PDR level”

• Mission proposal targeted for anticipated NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) Announcement of Opportunity– Expected cost cap: $240M– Other funding scenarios remain under exploration

• We are working on developing partnerships– Some of these could substantially change the mission architecture

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Strong, broad-based community support• WMO recommendation:

– Operational satellite agencies are encouraged to investigate possibilities for ensuring a follow-on to the high-latitude winds from MODIS with improved timeliness

• Louis Uccellini, Director of NOAA/NCEP– “ … there is no question that the scientific rationale behind the Molniya mission is rock solid”

• Greg Withee, NESDIS AA– “NESDIS is there … now we need to get the rest of NOAA onboard”

• US Navy, NPOESS IPO, ECMWF, national weather services in a number of countries (e.g. Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Nordic countries) are behind this

• Molniya Orbit Imager will be on the agenda at next EUMETSAT Council meeting; initial thrust coming primarily from Finland and from ECMWF

– Molniya participation as Optional Program– Polar Satellite Applications Facility (SAF); ground station, data processing and

dissemination

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Prospective partners/Cost reduction strategies

• National science partners– NOAA/NESDIS; ground support, data processing, instrument– DoD (USAF, NRL/FNMOC); endorsement

• International science partners– EUMETSAT; ground support– Finland (TEKES, FMI); ground support, space segment, launch– CSA; under discussion, supported by MSC

• Partners of opportunity– University of Calgary/FMI; secondary scientific payload: UV

Aurora imager

Molniya Orbit Imager, Wind Lidar Working Group, 01/17/2006

Summary

• Geostationary-class imager in a Molniya orbit can provide time-continuous water vapor and cloud imagery and derived products (e.g. winds) all the way to the pole

• Scientific heritage: GOES, MODIS

• Low risk approach: New science enabled by deploying flight-proven technology at a new vantage point

• Solid baseline mission concept developed

• Various partnership opportunities still under exploration; this could impact the overall mission architecture